


To: Future Arthur, From: Past Arthur

by supercalvin



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Future, Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Humor, M/M, Post-Episode: s05e13 The Diamond of the Day, slightly cracky
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-12
Updated: 2014-07-13
Packaged: 2018-02-08 12:21:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,339
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1940907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/supercalvin/pseuds/supercalvin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“How can you make me believe that I’ve been reincarnated for thousands of years and you’re an immortal wizard?” Arthur pretended to think about it as he tapped his chin. “Oh I know!” He snapped his fingers. “You can’t. "</p><p>Or Past Arthur leaves a video for Future Arthur to watch.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I don't even know anymore.
> 
> Chinese Translations thanks to Claudia9410! [Chapter One](http://claudia9410.lofter.com/post/1dcc6195_a0def42) and [Chapter Two](http://claudia9410.lofter.com/post/1dcc6195_a1ac15b)

“You don’t believe me, do you?”

“Of course I don’t, _Mer_ lin.” Arthur rolled his eyes as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Merlin groaned out his annoyance. “Come on, Arthur. I’m serious. Why would I make this up?”

“Because you’re an idiot that likes to annoy me?” Arthur offered, which was quite reasonable if Merlin thought about it.

“How can I make you believe me?” Merlin pleaded.

“How can you make me believe that I’ve been reincarnated for thousands of years and you’re an immortal wizard?” Arthur pretended to think about it as he tapped his chin. “Oh I know!” He snapped his fingers. “You _can’t_. Come off it, Merlin. This prank has got to be the stupidest one yet.”

“Prank!” Merlin yelped in outrage. “Arthur! I’m being serious here! And I’m a _warlock_ , not a _wizard_.”

“Whatever.” Arthur said. “You can do magic. You’re eyes glow gold. I get that.” Arthur pointed to Merlin, indicating his magic. It hadn’t been too hard to convince Arthur that magic was real, especially after Merlin saved him (for the billionth time). He had seen Merlin in full action after he stopped a space cruiser from crashing into the window of the Avalon Space Station, where Arthur was standing. The man in the cruiser was already dead due to a heart attack (which just confirmed Merlin’s beliefs that some people shouldn’t be given their space pilot’s license) but Arthur had been quite alive when he’d seen Merlin raise his hands and his eyes glow.

At this point in his life (about two thousand years old), Merlin had stopped caring about the big reveal. As soon as he realized that he and Arthur worked splendidly together once they established that Merlin had magic, he was always too eager to get to that part. It hadn’t always been easy though, the memories of his first life still to dominant in his mind.

Now they were on Avalon S.S.4 (Space Station 4). Arthur was a pilot for the United Solar Systems (USS) and Merlin was an engineer. A long time ago no one believed in aliens, and now they were part of the crew. A long time ago no one believed that long distance space travel was possible, and now they were millions of light years away from Earth. Now Arthur was hung up on the fact that Merlin was an immortal warlock. It hadn’t even been this hard when Arthur was a lord in the 18th century!

“Come on Arthur you have to believe me!”

“Alright Merlin. Let’s say I believe you, which I don’t by the way. But if I did, how many lives have I ‘lived?’” He made quotation marks with his hands over the words.

“Seven!” Merlin said. “Unless you count your first life, which I don’t really. It’s not really a reincarnation unless it’s _re_. So seven.”

Arthur raised a brow, looking unconvinced.

 Merlin held up his fingers. “One in the 1300s during the Black Plague. Then you were a lord in the 1700s. Then WWII. Then we had the 70s. _Man that was a strange time_. Then there was the early 2000s, which was weird because you came back so soon. Then in the 2300s when the First Contact happened. And _NOW_ , YOU DOLLOPHEAD!”

“Then how come I don’t remember any of this?”

“I don’t know. You usually only remember Camelot for some reason.”

“I think I would remember being the great King of Britons.”

Merlin wanted to gouge out his own eyes. Arthur may have been reborn with a different life than back in Camelot, but he was still the same insufferable prat.

“ _Arthur_!” Merlin groaned.

“ _Mer_ lin!” Arthur mocked back.

Merlin grumbled and slumped into the chair of their living space. He folded his arms and pouted, trying to think of what he had said to the other Arthurs to make him believe Merlin. He went through each life, which wasn’t as hard as one might think. The times in between Arthur’s lives all melded together, but when Arthur was alive, Merlin’s memory was perfect.

As his eyes scanned the room, falling on the screen across the way of the couch, his mind pulled out an old memory. “Aha!” he yelled and dashed into his room. He hoped to all the gods that he still had it. He prayed silently as he muttered, “Come on, where is it, where is it.”

“What in the worlds are you looking for?” Arthur asked as he leaned against the door frame. Merlin scrambled through all his things. He threw an old scarf behind him and pushed aside several old electronics which weren’t used in this century.

“Aha!” he declared again. This time he had a flat round reflective object in his hand.

“What is that?” Arthur asked.

“This is a DVD.” Merlin said smugly.

“Where the hell did you even get that? Been rummaging through antique stores?”

“I got it from the 21st century.” Merlin smiled and tried to find something that would play it.

“Of course you did.” Arthur said, sounding more concerned than annoyed.

Merlin found his (very) old laptop, turned it on with a bit of magic, and popped in the disc.

“Stars, this technology is old.” They sat down on Merlin’s bed, with the laptop in Merlin’s lap. Arthur squinted at the screen as if it wasn’t clear enough, though the computer had been top of the line in 2020.

The video started to play and Merlin made it full screen. It was Merlin and Arthur’s flat in London, roughly 2022. Merlin stood in front, looking very much like himself, except with the clothes of the time. He had on a pair of skinny jeans and a jumper, with a scarf around his neck.

Arthur looked a little confused, looking back and forth between the Merlin on screen and the Merlin next to him.

“Arthur get in here!” said Merlin on screen.

“I’m coming, give me a second!” Arthur voice yelled back. Current Arthur stiffened a little but he didn’t say anything.

“Arthur was and will always be a prat.” Past Merlin said into the camera. “Never forget that.”

Merlin felt his heart tug a little as he watched the video. He hated it when Arthur wasn’t alive. He remembered watching this video on lonely nights in the 22nd century. Somehow he hadn’t had the strength to watch it after that, and had all but forgotten about it.

On screen, Merlin turned his head to look at someone who was just out of view. “Oh, the King grants me with his presence.”

“Shut up, _Mer_ lin.” Arthur said in the video, the same way he always did in every life time.

Then Arthur walked into the camera’s view and Arthur gasped. On screen, this Arthur didn’t look very different than the one sitting next to Merlin. He had the same height and build with the same blonde hair and blue eyes. In the video, Arthur sat next to Merlin, ruffling his hair as Arthur in every century.

“Hello future Merlin!” Arthur said to the camera. “And hello to possibly future me. That’s a bit odd isn’t it?”

“God Arthur, I don’t even know if they’ll even have DVD when you come back again.”

“Well then. You’ll just have to convert this disc until it’s up to date. I want my future self to remember this.”

Merlin paused the video.

“Do you believe me now?” he asked, turning to a very pale faced Arthur.

“You’ve doctored that.”

Merlin sighed and calmly said, “No I haven’t.”

“But…”

Merlin raised a brow at Arthur.

A long time passed where Arthur looked at Merlin, then back at the screen.

“Wow...” Arthur’s wide eyes looked to Merlin. “Really?”

“Really.” Merlin confirmed.

Arthur grinned. “I was the great King of Camelot?” He looked as smug as he had looked in Camelot.

Merlin rolled his eyes and pushed Arthur’s shoulder playfully. “No. You were a clotpole of a king.” Merlin’s smile betrayed his true thoughts.

“How come I don’t remember then?” Arthur asked, his brows furrowed and his lips pursed.

“Don’t know.” Merlin shrugged. “It’ll probably come back to you. It will take a while.”

“Let’s watch the rest of the video.” Arthur leaned over and tried to press the laptop’s buttons, but Merlin hurriedly stood up.

“No!” he yelled, hugging the laptop to his chest.

“What the hell is wrong with you!” Arthur huffed. “Come on. Past Me wants Current Me to watch it.”

“No…” Merlin didn’t look Arthur in the eye.

“Merlin! You just told me I’ve been reincarnated _seven_ times, and you’re not going to let me see the video of a past self? Be reasonable!”

“It’s personal!”

“Personal!” Arthur exclaimed, “I’m in it too!”

“No! Well. No _you_ you. The _other_ you.”

“That’s still me!” Arthur lunged at him, trying to get the laptop.

After a brief amount of slapping and pulling, Arthur managed to get the laptop. He pressed play as he held Merlin back with a single arm.

The Merlin on screen smiled at the Arthur next to him. “And what do you want Future You to remember?”

“This.” Arthur leaned in and kissed Merlin rather passionately. His hand ran into Merlin’s hair as Merlin pressed closer. Noises filtered through the speakers of Merlin’s whimpers and Arthurs groans and laughs. In the current century, Arthur’s grip on Merlin slackened and his mouth was wide open in shock. With the lack of restraint Merlin jumped forward and stopped the video. His face was burning and he couldn’t look his best friend in the eye.

Though Merlin wasn’t looking, he knew Arthur was staring at him.

“You…” Arthur started. “But I’m not… But I thought I was straight!”

“In this lifetime you are.” Merlin said. “Not so much in the past, though.”

Arthur made a squeaking sound which Merlin couldn’t interpret. “You…and me?”

“Um. Yeah.” Merlin wanted to crawl into a hole and die. He shouldn’t be embarrassed that Arthur had found out about their own relationship, but somehow he was.

“How many times? How many times were we…you know.”

Merlin rubbed the back of his neck.

“ _Mer_ lin.” Arthur growled.

“All of them!” Merlin looked into Arthur’s eyes, feeling a little shaken. “Okay? All of them.”

Arthur sat back onto the bed, looking more panicked about this news than the fact that his best friend was an immortal warlock.

“You don’t have to do anything, okay? You can forget it ever happened. I won’t bring it up.” Merlin set down the laptop and pretended it didn’t exist. “See? Never happened. Good? Okay, good.”

“Do you love me?” Arthur asked, his voice only above a whisper as he looked up at Merlin.

They had established in this life that they loved each other as friends. Merlin had been drunk and he had told Arthur that he loved him. Arthur had said ‘Of course you do. We’re best mates. If you don’t love me, we’ve got a problem.’ This time was different though. Merlin swallowed, his voice thick when he said, “’Course I do.”

“But, in the best-friend-love kind of way? Or you know, the I-want-you kind of way.”

“The I’ve-been-saving-your-royal-backside-for-over-two-thousand-years-and-I-don’t-care-if-you-don’t-love-me-back-I’m-not-going-anywhere, kind of way.” Merlin said resolutely.

Arthur stood up suddenly, grabbed Merlin’s face and kissed him. Their teeth clacked and Merlin stumbled backwards, almost falling over, but Arthur had him pinned. Arthur pulled away, looking shocked at his own actions.

“Get that out of your system?” Merlin asked, a little out of breath.

“Hell no.” Arthur dove right back in, taking Merlin’s lips with his own.

In between breaths Merlin said, “You don’t have to, Arthur, I swear.”

“Merlin?” Arthur said next to Merlin’s ear, as he pulled on his ear lobe with his teeth.

“Yeah?” Merlin gasped.

“Shut up.”

Arthur continued to kiss Merlin senseless until he lost track of time and all he could smell, taste, and feel was Arthur. When Arthur pulled away, his forehead on Merlin’s, he said “We should probably watch the rest of the video.”

“Er…” Merlin looked up before diverting his gaze. “There’s not much left on the video.”

“ _Mer_ lin…” Arthur growled again.

Merlin blushed.

“What? Merlin, what can it possibly be _this time_? Sex on tape?” He laughed but when he saw Merlin’s blush he choked on his own laugh. “ _Merlin_!” he sounded scandalized.

“You started it!” Merlin yelled back.

Arthur sputtered. “That wasn’t _me_! Well, it was but- You know what I mean!”

“You can watch it later.” Merlin declared, “After we have sex now.” Merlin pushed him back onto the bed, and Arthur couldn’t form a coherent argument for the rest of the evening.


	2. Dear Future Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Hello. This is a message to my next reincarnation. So um…Hi to myself, I guess? Believe me, this is as weird now as it probably will be in the next life. I just felt like I should give you- me, uh, whatever- some pointers because everyone needs advice sometimes. Who better than an experienced you?"

Arthur popped in the disc, happy that the laptop still had battery thanks to Merlin’s magic. It took him a while to navigate through the ancient technology, but it was easy enough once he got the video to play. He skipped through the parts he had already seen (avoiding the distraction which would surely arise once he started watching Past Merlin and Past him) until the screen went dark. It stayed dark for a full minute. Arthur hummed. Huh, he could have sworn-

A click on screen indicated something had changed. He waited another thirty seconds and Arthur (from the 21st century) was on screen. The effect was still odd for Arthur, even after seeing the video multiple times (usually with Merlin at his side). Now he was alone, and there was another part to the video that Arthur hadn’t seen yet.

On screen, Arthur was alone, sitting on a bed with his legs crossed.

“Hello. This is a message to my next reincarnation. So um…Hi to myself, I guess? Believe me, this is as weird now as it probably will be in the next life. I just felt like I should give you- me, uh, whatever- some pointers because everyone needs advice sometimes. Who better than an experienced you?”

Arthur shrugged. He had to give himself credit: he had a point.

“I’m sure Merlin is going to be a nosy bugger and he’s going to watch this video so: Hi Merlin!” Arthur on screen squinted, “You’re going to watch this no matter what I say, but just so we’re clear, I’m telling you to stop. _Do not watch this_. Is that clear, you idiot? You’ll probably watch this anyway.” Past Arthur got a soppy look on his face and Current Arthur felt a tug on his heart. Apparently Merlin had always been a soft point with him, even back then. “Maybe you can watch this after…well we both know how the rest of my lives have worked out and I’m not sure how long I’ll live in this one, but I guess we’ll see. I’m going to seal this disc and put it with my Will with specific instructions to Merlin, but you know him, he never listens.”

For a moment Arthur was painfully aware of his own mortality and Merlin’s immortality. He shook it aside and focused on his own voice through the speakers.

“I’m going to try to make this short and simple. First things first,” Arthur held up a finger, like he was beginning to count out a list, “This feeling of being reincarnated? It’s not going to go away, so I suggest you deal with it, or find a way to cope with the fact that you’ve had multiple lives. You’re going to get weird déjà vu, which I’m guessing has already happened to you. When I was ten, the first time I rode a horse, I had the weirdest feeling that I’d already done it thousands of times. Stuff like that is going to happen. _A lot_.”

Arthur remembered when he was thirteen at an interactive history museum and he picked up a sword. He had gotten in so much trouble with his instructor when he had swung it into a perfect move, turning his wrist and getting into a bent knee ready position. The museum guide looked so impressed that she asked Arthur if he had ever taken Classic Earth fencing lessons. He said no, but the feeling of déjà vu hadn’t worn off.

“Secondly,” Past Arthur held up another finger, “You are _so_ _not_ straight.”

Arthur laughed at himself, surprised at the smirk on screen.

“I guarantee that you are so deep in the closet, you don’t even know you’re in there.”

Arthur thought that 21st century slang for sexuality was odd, but if he remembered his history correctly, sexual preferences were treated differently back then. Arthur had thought he was solely attracted to women until Merlin revealed the big secret. Arthur was surprised he had ever liked any woman after that. Nothing compared to being with Merlin; his soul had bonded to Merlin’s a long time ago.

“You won’t remember this,” Past Arthur said, with a frown, “but in this lifetime being gay isn’t exactly easy. Probably better than before, but still it isn’t great. Hope it’s better in the future. Anyway, it’s been a year since I came out and I lost some friends, but you know, good riddance. Plus Mum and Dad have been really distant…But Merlin’s been here and he’s all I really need.”

“Which brings me to the most important part: number three,” Past Arthur held up a third finger, “ _Mer_ lin.”

“Merlin, I know you’re probably still watching, so if you’re not going to watch any part of this video, let it be this part. I’m serious, Merlin. You’ve had me for five lifetimes; let me tell my Future Self this one bit of advice.” There was a pause, and then Arthur rolled his eyes. “You’re still here, aren’t you? Fucking nosy idiot.”

Arthur laughed and wondered if Merlin had watched this. He probably had, knowing him as well as Arthur did (in every lifetime).

“Alright Future Me, listen carefully. I’m going to tell you some things that you may or may not know about Merlin. Hopefully by now you know that Merlin’s the same clotpole that was in Camelot all those years ago. You should remember that, if nothing else.”

Arthur frowned, because those memories still hadn’t come back to him, though the déjà vu was getting stronger and stronger with each day.

“He’s pretty much the same, as you’ll come to see. He trips over his feet, has that big grin to match those big ears, and he can’t clean a room for his life.” Past Arthur rolled his eyes and muttered, “Worst manservant in all five kingdoms, I swear to God.”

“He doesn’t like talking about the other lives. He’ll say something stupid like ‘It’s personal.’ What he means is that he wants you to experience this lifetime and not think about the past. He likes to be with you, the _now_ _you_. Or whatever Future Me there will be. As far as I can tell, you and I are the same as we were in Camelot. And in the next life, and the life after that. Don’t be jealous of any past lives, we’re all the same, even if you don’t remember anything.”

Arthur thought of how Merlin had said ‘It’s personal!’ when Arthur had tried to take the laptop from him, and figured Past Arthur knew what he was talking about.

Past Arthur frowned, looking down at his hands in his lap. “What you’ll figure out though, is that Merlin isn’t exactly the same as you left him. Sure he still has magic, annoys the shit out of you, and he still loves with all his being…But he’s waited a thousand years and you can only imagine what that does to a man…I don’t know about you, Future Me, but I thought Merlin was the same as he had always been. What I wasn’t ready to find out was that he had been different even back in Camelot. Sometimes I want Merlin to be that innocent young boy he had been all those years ago, and I want to take away the burden of a thousand years…But Future Me, you have to deal with the fact that Merlin had lost his innocence a long time ago, even back in Camelot. He lied to you about magic, and I think that hurt him more than it hurt me. Now I hope that I can bring back that young man with every life I give him. Just do _us,_ me and you, a favor: protect him. He doesn’t really need protecting in the physical sense, as you’ll find out soon enough, but he’ll need a hug sometimes.” Past Arthur gave a shaky laugh, his eyes watery. Current Arthur felt his chest begin to ache.

“It’s been over a thousand years since Camelot. It was thirty years since my last life time…Merlin said that was the shortest wait he ever had. Thirty years was short.” On screen Arthur laughed without humor. “The first time he waited for 700 years.” Past Arthur took a deep breath, “He’s waited a long time, and it hasn’t been easy for him. There will be days…When he’s…You’re going to have to…” Past Arthur wiped his eyes quickly and ploughed on, “He’ll look at you as if he thinks he’s seen a ghost. Or he can’t stop staring at you as you do menial tasks, his eyes glazed over. It’s almost worse on the days when he can’t stop smiling, like he’s so happy you’re there… Some nights you’re going to need to just _hold_ him, okay? Just… _be there_. Don’t forget to tell him every once and a while that you love him, even if you say it by calling him an idiot. Five lifetimes and I think he’s figured out that ‘idiot’ just means ‘love.’”

Arthur felt his own eyes become watery. He had to pause the video for a minute as he tried to compose himself. He had thought about how long Merlin had waited, but he hadn’t been able to wrap his mind around the idea. First time it was 700 years and Merlin wasn’t even sure Arthur would be back at all. At the present, it was _two_ thousand years and the last lifetime was 300 years ago. _Stars, thirty years was nothing_ , Arthur thought.

He pressed play again. Arthur on screen looked slightly sad but satisfied with what he had said.

He held up one finger, “Weird Déjà vu. I promise Camelot will all come back, even in little chunks. Don’t freak out. Merlin will only tease you about it.” He held up a second finger, “You are fucking gay as hell. Oh and I should add at this point that you are really going to like Merlin topping. You don’t think you will because Merlin’s right, you are a bit of a prat, but believe me. Oh and ask him about sex magic.” All the hairs on Current Arthur’s body stood up as if his body was remembering something that hadn’t happened in 300 years. The déjà vu was happening again, and Arthur was definitely going to ask Merlin about it. “And thirdly” Arthur said on screen holding up a third finger, “Merlin. You love him more than you can even put into words. You’re souls are bound and that’s not something that’s easy to come to terms with, but after seeing your soul mate dance around the kitchen in nothing but boxers and a pink apron, you’ll get used to the idea. As much as he laughs and teases you, he’s not always okay. He’s going to need you and God only knows how many more lifetimes I’ll have or how many years until the next one. Believe me, whether it’s thirty or seven hundred, he’s still going to have his bad days. Remember what I said.”

“Oh, and Merlin. You idiot.” Past Arthur smiled softly, his eyes shining, “I love you, and I’ll be back soon, okay? Just wait a little longer for me.”

He leaned forward, pressing something on the camera, and the screen turned black.

“Guess you finally figured out there’s a second part of the video.”

Arthur’s head shot up to see Merlin standing in the doorway.

Quickly Arthur wiped his eyes, afraid he had started crying. “You watched it even though I told you not to.” Arthur said hoping his voice didn’t sound too choked.

“Of course I did.” Merlin scoffed. “You practically dared me to.”

Arthur laughed a little and moved the laptop over. “Come here.” He pulled Merlin into his lap, resting his cheek against Merlin’s shoulder. “I’m sorry.”

Merlin laughed. “Stars, Arthur. You’ve done nothing wrong.”

“You know what I mean.” Arthur looked into Merlin’s dark blue eyes. “I want you to be… _okay_.” Arthur said, using the 21 st century slang.

It made Merlin smile. “I’m _okay_ right now.” He said, kissing Arthur’s cheek.

“Will you tell me when you’re not?” Arthur asked.

Merlin smiled a little and Arthur knew the answer. No, he wouldn’t. Merlin would never want to worry Arthur, because even after all these years, he still tried to be brave on his own.

“Well, in case you didn’t already know, I’m here and I love you.” Arthur blushed as he said it, but he didn’t look away.

Merlin smiled and kissed him. “I’ll be here for you, too. In case you haven’t figured it out, I’m not going anywhere.”

Arthur laughed, “I guess not.” He wrapped Merlin in his arms, pressing forward, kissing him again and again.

“Hey, Merlin” he said in between kisses, “I have a question about your magic…”

“You’re going to ask about the sex magic aren’t you?” Merlin groaned.

“What?” Arthur asked, feigning innocence.

“You prat, you ruined the moment.” Merlin pushed at him, getting off his lap and walking out the door.

“Oh come on!” Arthur grabbed his arm before he went too far, “You can top.”

Merlin stopped. He grumbled, “Okay, fine.” And he sat back down with a roll of his eyes but his smile peeked through.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Added onto this story, because I felt like it was lacking something. Hope you like it!


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